How to Find an Unclaimed Life Insurance Policy (2024)

If your parent or loved one had life insurance and you know which company holds the policy, contact the insurer directly. They can tell you if you were named a beneficiary and, if so, help you file a claim. If you don't know the life insurance company — or that a policy even exists — you can use free tools and some personal resources to conduct your search.

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How to find if a life insurance policy exists

What if you don't know whom to contact or how to find out if a life insurance policy exists at all? Try these tips to locate old life insurance policies and unclaimed insurance money:

  • Sort through paperwork: Check your loved one's filing cabinet or safe-deposit box for records of a life insurance policy. You may have luck by searching through old tax returns and bank statements. Remember that sifting through stacks of paperwork can be time-consuming and emotionally draining when dealing with losing a loved one; other methods of tracking down old life insurance policies may be more efficient.
  • Search with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC): NAIC has an online Life Insurance Policy Locator Service that uses the deceased's name to search the records of participating life insurance companies. This service is free, confidential, and easy to use.
  • Check with your loved one's financial advisor: You may find life insurance policies of a deceased parent or other loved one by giving their financial advisor or accountant a call. If their client gave them permission to do so, a financial advisor may have already contacted the life insurance agency and can help beneficiaries file a claim. If you don’t have luck with the financial advisor but your loved one had an executor, ask the executor to reach out to the financial advisor. Executors should be able to share the life insurance company name with you if you’re a beneficiary, and then you can reach out to the company directly.
  • Conduct a free search with the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA): NAUPA has a free tool to locate lost or unclaimed insurance money and other property. Select your state, and you can see if there's a record of any insurance benefits or money owed to you.
  • Contact previous employers: Many companies offer life insurance in their employee benefits packages. Contact the HR department at your loved one's most recent employer to see what they have on file. Companies may have a record of life insurance policies for past employees.
  • Try the state insurance department: Unclaimed life insurance eventually gets passed on to the state insurance department if the insurer is aware that the policyholder has passed away but the beneficiary hasn't filed a claim. NAIC can provide you with the insurance department contact details for the state in which your loved one held a policy.

Pro tip:

If you're still struggling to find old life insurance policies for your deceased friend or family member, a private agency might be able to help. Before you pay them or submit personal information, verify the agency's credentials so you don't fall victim to a scam or insurance fraud.

Determining if you're owed unclaimed insurance money

If you've lost a family member or close friend, you may be listed as a beneficiary without even knowing it. Suppose the deceased didn't have a partner or children to name on their policy; they might have branched out to other relationships when choosing the beneficiary of their life insurance policy. Policies often name several beneficiaries, so it's worth looking into if you think you might be one of them.

It's best to start looking into unclaimed life insurance as soon as possible. Most life insurance companies won't know a policyholder has passed away until a claim has been filed — and in the meantime, they'll continue to charge payments. If the insurance company doesn't receive payment from the policyholder, they may deduct funds from the policy's benefits to cover those unpaid premiums.

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How to Find an Unclaimed Life Insurance Policy (2024)

FAQs

How to Find an Unclaimed Life Insurance Policy? ›

Work with a third-party company. There are several third-party companies that might be able to help you find an unclaimed life insurance policy. You can contact the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators or the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to find out if you're owed any funds.

How to find hidden life insurance policies? ›

Work with a third-party company. There are several third-party companies that might be able to help you find an unclaimed life insurance policy. You can contact the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators or the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to find out if you're owed any funds.

Is there a way to find out if someone took out a life insurance policy? ›

The best way is to contact the policy's issuer (the life insurance company). Their records are key: even if you see your name listed on an old policy document, the deceased may have changed their beneficiaries (or the allocation of benefits among those beneficiaries) after that document was printed.

Is there a database to search life insurance policies? ›

That's where the Life Insurance Policy Locator comes in. This free online tool is maintained by the NAIC and requests are secure and confidential. Any matches found by participating insurers are reported to state insurance agencies through the NAIC Life Policy Locator.

How can I find out if a life insurance policy is still active? ›

In your web browser, navigate to naic.org, hover over Consumer, and click Life Insurance Policy Locator under Tools. Submit a search request by entering the deceased's information from the death certificate: Social Security number.

How to find lost life insurance policies for free? ›

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) website has an online form available to anyone who believes they may be a beneficiary of an unclaimed life insurance policy. The locator has matched consumers with more than $6.7 billion in benefits since 2016, according to the NAIC.

Can you find life insurance policy with Social Security number? ›

Using the NAIC Life Policy Locator, you can submit a request with the legal name, date of birth, Social Security number and date of death for the deceased person to find a life insurance policy or annuity.

Do life insurance companies contact beneficiaries? ›

Once a policyholder has passed away, beneficiaries typically receive life insurance notification within 90 days of the death. However, this can vary depending on the insurer, and whether they're able to locate all beneficiaries.

What happens if a life insurance company can t find the beneficiary? ›

Without a named beneficiary, your life insurance proceeds become part of your estate. The life insurance proceeds get distributed accordingly, along with the rest of your assets. Your estate may need to go through probate, which often charges substantial fees and could take a long time before reaching your heirs.

What happens if beneficiary does not claim life insurance? ›

The beneficiaries will never receive payment if they do not claim the life insurance benefits. The money can remain with the life insurance company for a certain period, but as you will see below, the life insurance company does not keep the money forever.

How do you find life insurance without paperwork? ›

10 ways to find a lost life insurance policy
  1. If the policyholder is still alive, request a new copy of the policy. ...
  2. Search personal records. ...
  3. Ask financial advisors and other significant people. ...
  4. Check with your loved one's automotive and home insurers. ...
  5. Contact employers. ...
  6. Contact trade unions and other professional associations.

What database do life insurance companies use? ›

Health and life insurance companies use MIB's database to verify applicants' health information. Read on to know more about MIB, including the company's history and whether your information is on its database.

What information do life insurance companies have access to? ›

Life insurance companies are supposed to check medical records before issuing a policy when a policyholder's answers on the initial application and medical questionnaire indicate there may be further medical issues, or if the life insurance company needs more information about the policyholder's health before ...

What happens if the owner of a life insurance policy dies before the insured? ›

A life insurance policy is no different. If the owner and the insured are two different people and the owner dies first, the policy ownership has to pass to a successor owner until the death of the insured results in the proceeds being paid to a beneficiary.

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